1. Field
The following description relates to a flexible printed circuit board and a method of manufacturing the flexible printed circuit board.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic products are becoming increasingly smaller and thinner, as well as being designed to have specific aesthetically pleasing external appearances. To implement electronic products that meet all of these requirements, the size and shape of printed circuit boards (PCBs) that are inserted into the electronic products have to be also designed to meet rigid specifications.
According to the number of layers, printed circuit boards may be classified as single side PCBs, in which wiring is formed on one side of an insulation layer only, double side PCBs, in which wiring is formed on both sides of an insulation layer, and multi-layered PCBs, in which wiring is formed on multiple layers.
According to a material used therein, PCBs may be classified as rigid PCBs, which use a rigid material, flexible PCBs, which use a flexible material, and rigid flexible PCBs, which use a combination of a rigid material and a flexible material.
Among these different types of PCBs, flexible PCBs are increasingly used as the boards that are inserted in electronic products in order to cope with the increasing demand for smaller and thinner electronic products. Moreover, in addition to smartphones and tablet PCs having various functions, an increasing number of watch-type, bracelet-type and necklace-type wearable products have been developed, requiring various structures and designs of circuit boards that are capable of realizing these wearable products. Examples of these PCBs are disclosed, for example, in Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2013-0097473 (laid open on Sep. 3, 2013).